


The one where they spend the summer in Vancouver

by frogy



Series: And Scene [3]
Category: You Could Make a Life Series - Taylor Fitzpatrick
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-20 02:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15524328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frogy/pseuds/frogy
Summary: Originally a tumblr ficlet. The one where Bryce asks Jared to come home with him for the summer and Jared sees Bryce's childhood bedroom.





	The one where they spend the summer in Vancouver

Bryce is the one that brings it up. “Have you given any thought to what you’re doing this summer?” and it’s the phrasing that puts Jared on high alert because Bryce doesn’t talk like that, silted and awkwardly formal. That doesn’t mean he knows how to respond any more than if he didn’t catch on.

“No,” Jared says because he doesn’t. He can picture as far as the draft, but everything beyond that is a locked door with no windows, the future beyond his imagination.

“I was thinking of going back to Vancouver,” Bryce says.

“Yeah,” Jared says because he knew this was coming eventually.

“I haven’t seen my mom since Christmas,” Bryce says obviously excited about the prospect of seeing her and Jared is happy for him, as much as he’ll miss Bryce this summer.

“When are you leaving?” Jared asks. He hopes it’s not until after the draft. He thinks he’s going to want to see Bryce when he gets back. Or well, he always wants to see Bryce but he thinks it’s going to be different.

“That depends. Do you want to come with me,” Bryce says.

“What?” Jared was not expecting that.

“You can spend the summer with me,” Bryce says and not wanting to repeat himself is the only thing that stops Jared from saying ‘what’ again. In his confusion Jared says nothing for long enough that Bryce keeps talking. “I can set you up with my trainer. Or someone else if it would be weird to train together. And my mom would be happy to have you stay with us.”

“I’d have to ask my parents,” Jared says. He has no idea what that conversation will be like. There’s no hockey in the summer, and no school either, although by the summer he’ll have graduated and there will be no more school ever again. He’s still not sure why they let him spend his birthday at Bryce’s. Will they give any weight to the argument that he’s an adult now? His mom has softened to Bryce since the beginning. And whoever Bryce can line up to train with has got to be good, probably so good they’re out of Jared’s price range but his dad can’t argue with things that are good for his hockey.

“But you’ll ask? You want to come?” Bryce says as though there’s any question there.

“Yeah,” Jared says.

——

In the end Jared’s still not sure what sold them. All Jared got from the conversation was ‘we’ll talk about it’ and ‘can we call Bryce’s Mom?’ Maybe he’ll ask Elaine what they said when he get there. But he’s going.

——

Their flight in is super early. Elaine picks them up from the airport and drives them back to the house, explaining that she’s technically working from home today and she has to hop on a call before they order lunch, why don’t they go on up and get settled?

Bryce takes Jared up to his room with all their bags and it probably should have occurred to him before now that Elaine would let him stay with Bryce. The room is even more of a Bryce museum than his apartment, no framed jerseys but shelves of those trophies that everyone got for participation when they were young enough moving on to medals in plexiglass boxes that were earned. There are scattered pucks and a few Percy Jackson books shoved in a corner next to a pile of PS2 games.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Bryce says pulling Jared’s attention back from taking in the room.

“Yeah,” Jared says letting Bryce pull him into a kiss. Jared goes because he has a whole summer of getting to be with Bryce and he’s not going to waste a second of it.

They end up on the bed because it’s right there and they always do, until Bruce pulls away to pull Jared’s shirt off.

“Your mom is home,” Jared says pulling away. And now that Jared has stopped to think about it, it’s weird to be doing this here in Bryce’s childhood bedroom with all his childhood things.

“She’s on a call on the other side of the house,” Bryce says.

“The zoo is watching,” Jared says pointing at a shelf filled with stuffed animals he somehow he missed before. They’re perfectly positioned on a lower shelf to watch the bed with their shiny glass eyes.

“They don’t live in a zoo,” Bryce says.

“What?” Jared says.

“It’s Winnie the Pooh and friends. They live in the Hundred Acre Woods,” Bryce says

Jared doesn’t mean to laugh at his boyfriend but he can’t help it. Bryce is so cute he can’t stand it.

“Stop laughing at me,” Bryce says pulling away, crossing his arms and looking disconcertedly at Bryce.

“It’s good laughing. You are adorable,” Jared says, making grabby hands to pull Bryce back.

“No I’m not,” Bryce says, letting Jared pull him back but he keeps his arms crossed, not looking convinced.

“But also, they are watching us. How did you ever jerk off here?” Jared says.

“They’re not watching us,” Bryce says scandalized. He must be realizing they were voyeurs and Jared starts laughing again.

“Fine,” Bryce says, scooting off the bed. Jared figures Bryce will throw them in a closet or something, but that’s not what he does. Instead, Bryce turns them around carefully, one by one, until all the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Woods are facing the back of the shelf.

“Better?” he asks and Jared looks over at the row of stuffed animal butts now facing them. Is there a limit to how much you’re allowed to laugh at your boyfriend?

Jared manages not to laugh this time. “Sure,” he says instead.

“Now where was I?” Bryce says, climbing back on the bed and taking off his shirt, thoroughly distracting Jared from any other objections.


End file.
